Storms zap power

IRON MOUNTAIN – Thunderstorms rolled through the area on Thursday evening, causing scattered power outages.

In Iron River, 109 We Energies customers lost power at about 4:30 p.m. It was restored just after midnight.

In Mansfield Township, 400 We Energies customers lost power at about 4:45 p.m. Although power was restored by 5:30 p.m., another outage affecting 180 customers occurred at 7:45 p.m. It was restored by 10 p.m.

In Breitung Township, 50 We Energies customers lost power at about 5 p.m. A second outage affecting 30 customers occurred at about 5:30 p.m. Power was restored to all customers by 8:30 p.m.

As of this morning, there were still a few outages for We Energies customers in Crystal Falls, Iron River, and Long Lake, Wis.

Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO) customers in Marquette County also encountered outages from the storm. The hardest hit areas were Republic, Ishpeming, and the Dead River Basin area.

As of this morning, more than 700 UPPCO customers in those areas were still without power.

“We encountered a lot of trees, branches, and power lines down, and a number of broken poles,” said UPPCO officials. “Additional storm restoration crews have been brought in and will be working all day to restore power.”

Firefighters from the Crystal Falls Fire Department were busy Thursday night and this morning responding to three separate incidents of trees falling on power lines and catching fire.

Incidents occurred Thursday at 6:45 p.m. on Idlewild Road in Crystal Falls Township, Thursday at 8:45 p.m. on M-69 in Crystal Falls Township, and today at 5:35 a.m. on South Fifth Street in Crystal Falls.

Most of the Upper Peninsula, including Dickinson and Iron counties, remains under a hazardous weather outlook for today.

According to the National Weather Service, scattered thunderstorms are possible through tonight. Storms could produce winds up to 35 miles per hour and small hail.

Florence and Marinette counties in Wisconsin are also under a hazardous weather outlook for thunderstorms today.

The rainfall total for the Iron Mountain-Kingsford area was about an inch.